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Buy Windows 10 Pro license for $15 and Office for $28 in Big June Sale (save up to 91%)

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Keysbuff offers great deals on Microsoft software activation keys.
Keysbuff offers great deals on Microsoft software activation keys.
Photo: Keysbuff.com

This post on discount Microsoft software is brought to you by Keysbuff.

The Big June Sale at Keysbuff gives you the opportunity to get great deals on software. Cult of Mac readers will find deep discounts from the software activation keys provider. You can save up to 91% off the full price on Windows 10 — and uncover significant savings on lots of other Microsoft software, as well.

To score these great bargains, just use promo code COM at Keysbuff.com. That will save you an extra 25% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and others in the list below. You can purchase many of these products with lifetime licenses.

Today in Apple history: App Store developers earn $10 billion and counting

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In its first five years, the App Store becomes an unstoppable money machine, paying out $10 billion to app developers.
In its first five years, the App Store becomes an unstoppable money machine.
Photo: Apple

June 10 Today in Apple history: App Store developers earn $10 billion and counting June 10, 2013: Apple passes a major milestone in iOS history, as payments to app developers top $10 billion on the App Store’s fifth birthday.

Speaking at WWDC 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals that the company paid out half of this money in the previous year. He also notes that this outrageous total is three times more than all other app store platforms combined. With 575 million user accounts registered, Apple has more credit cards on file than any other company on the internet.

People have downloaded 50 billion apps in total out of a collection of 900,000 available, Cook says, with 93% of the apps downloaded at least once every month.

JBL noise-canceling earbuds: An affordable AirPods Pro alternative

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These JBL noise-cancelling earbuds sound fantastic.
These JBL wireless earbuds pack a big sound -- and active noise cancellation -- for a small price.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Every year, the standard for wireless earbuds gets higher while the price gets lower and lower. A few years ago, it was hard to find anything even close to competing with AirPods Pro, but now you can pick up a pair of affordable wireless earbuds with many of the same refined features.

JBL Live Free NC+ in-ear noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones are on sale for only $74.99 (regularly $149) — and it’s amazing what they can do.

For All Mankind season 3 premiere embraces schlock and awe [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: A space wedding goes wrong in the season three opener.★★★☆☆
A space wedding goes wrong in the For All Mankind season three opener.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ alt-history space saga For All Mankind splashes down in the go-go ’90s in its not-really-merited third season. After another decadal jump, Nirvana is king, Bill Clinton is running for office, and we’re apparently going to Mars.

This show’s absurd single-mindedness has not been softened by its premature renewal for a fourth season, by which point presumably we’ll be traveling to the sixth dimension on a rocket sled while Avril Lavigne runs for Congress. Anyway … let’s rip off this Band-Aid.

Colin Farrell will bring a little Sugar to Apple TV+

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Colin Farrell will bring a little 'Sugar' to Apple TV+
Colin Farrell is set to star in a new Apple Original series from creator Mark Protosevich.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ bought the rights to Sugar, a new genre-bending mystery series starring Colin Farrell and created by Mark Protosevich.

There was a lot of interest in the project, with Netflix also reportedly bidding on it.

iOS 16 will allow you to uninstall more built-in apps from your iPhone

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The Find My app has been hiding a secret.
You can remove the Find My app from your iPhone in iOS 16
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iOS 16 will let you to delete the built-in Find My, Health, and Clock apps from your iPhone (or iPad) for the first time.

The company first added the ability to delete pre-installed system apps in iOS 10. It has since expanded the list of supported apps over the years. Why? Threats of antitrust legislation.

Grab AirTag at its lowest price yet

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Grab AirTag at its lowest price yet with these Black Friday AirTag deals
Don't miss your chance to get AirTags at one of the best prices we've seen.
Photo: Kehn Hermano/Pexels

Apple’s AirTag item tracker is available at 17% off the usual price. This is a rare opportunity to get a discount on a single one rather than a bundle of them. But if you prefer a 4-pack, that’s available at 10% off.

It’s good timing: Father’s Day is coming up fast and AirTag makes a nice present.

Win a multi-device charger with built-in MagSafe battery pack [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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Pitaka MagEz Slider with MagEZ Battery Pack
The MagEZ Slider charger includes a magnetic battery pack for charging on the road.
Photo: Adel Neal/Cult of Mac

This week’s Cult of Mac giveaway is a sleek multi-device wireless charger that includes a removable battery pack for juicing on the go.

Worth $130, the MagEZ Slider from Pitaka is great way to charge your iPhone and AirPods on your desk or nightstand. But better yet, the charger has an integrated battery pack that attaches magnetically to your iPhone to continue charging away from home.

“The MagEZ Slider is hands down the best charging apparatus I’ve ever used!” said one satisfied customer on Pitaka’s website. And we’re giving away three of them.

Apple hasn’t given up on macOS Big Sur

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macOS 11.1 beta 1 was seeded to developers on November 17.
Macs with Big Sur should upgrade to macOS 11.6.7.
Photo: Cult of Mac

If your Mac is still running macOS 11, there’s a software update you need. Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 to fix an email bug that prevents email applications from opening attachments.

The new version is available to download now.

Become an urban sketch artist with these digital workshops

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Learn to sketch your world with this course bundle.
These urban sketching workshops are led by a real pro.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Urban sketching is the practice of drawing the world around you, even if it’s the world you’re used to seeing all the time. You can learn to see, appreciate and render the world you live in with the 2022 Urban Sketching Course Bundle. This 20-hour training bundle is on sale for only $39.99 (regularly $319).

Apple pushes ahead with 15-inch M2 MacBook Air and 12-inch M2 MacBook

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Apple may broaden its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineup to capture more market share.
Apple appears to want to broaden its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineup to capture more market share.
Photo: Apple

Apple is developing new form factors and planning upgrades for its MacBook lineup, Bloomberg reported Thursday. That should result in a 15-inch M2 MacBook Air and a new version of a 12-inch M2 MacBook arriving by late 2023 or early 2024.

And, likely sooner than that, we could see faster chips in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

Photos from WWDC22: Apple Park, the Apple Developer Center and more

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Looking back through the doors from outside.
Developers, students and press enjoyed a rare opportunity to visit the Apple Park campus during WWDC22.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

CUPERTINO, California — For the first time, a big group of developers, students and media were allowed inside the very heart of Apple’s spaceship HQ during WWDC22.

The central office building, known as the Ring, is bigger than the Pentagon. Teams at Apple move in and out between other buildings as projects change — I met several ARKit engineers who recently moved in and were a bit vague on what they were working on. Interesting.

Previously, members of the media had been escorted to the Steve Jobs Theater for press events, which is another building off to the side of the sprawling Apple Park campus. However, the theater would have been much too small to fit the 1,000 developers, 350 students and hundreds of employees attending the WWDC22 keynote viewing party.

This special day for developers — an invitation-only, in-person event at this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference — marked a big step in Apple’s efforts to boost developer trust. Apple also gave attendees a first look at the new Apple Developer Center located just across the street from the Ring.

See the full gallery below for more than 80 pictures of Apple’s campus.

Apple may launch 14.1-inch mini-LED iPad Pro with M2 chip

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Whatever it's called, a 14.1-inch M2 iPad Pro could be coming fairly soon.
Whatever it's called, a 14.1-inch M2 iPad Pro could be coming fairly soon.
Image: Cult of Mac

Apple is working on an iPad Pro with a 14.1-inch mini-LED display, ProMotion and Face ID, sources suggested Thursday.

Unfortunately for folks who are already salivating at the idea of such a big Apple tablet, it probably won’t arrive until early 2023.

Hands on: 5 best new features of iOS 16

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A highlight of iOS 16 is a new Lock Screen
The new Lock Screen is just one of the best new features in iOS 16.
Image: Apple

There’s a lot to like in iOS 16, so I couldn’t resist installing the first beta to test the best new features. Here’s my hands-on experience with the new Lock Screen, improvements in the Messages and Mail apps, and more. These are just my favorites from the couple of days I’ve had to test the initial beta.

Plus, the next version of iOS adds other features that might be great — when Apple gets them working right.

See why this password manager is smarter than the rest

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This password manager is super easy to use.
This smart visual password manager makes security a breeze.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

You want to keep all your online accounts secure, but creating (and then remembering) a robust and unique password for each is basically impossible for anyone who’s not Rain Man. And you don’t want to be doubling down on the same password — that’s one of the stupidest things you can do.

That’s why you should consider a simple password manager that can do the work for you. One example is Mindpass, a unique password tool that saves all your passwords in a 3D environment that only you know how to get through. For a limited time, you can purchase a Mindpass Unlimited Plan for $29.99 (regularly $180).

Oh no! Ted Lasso won’t get a fourth season

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Bumbling coach Ted Lasso is back, and headed for Apple TV+.
Jason Sudeik stars in Ted Lasso, a fish-out-of-water comedy for Apple TV+ that's coming to an end soon.
Photo: Apple

Update May 2023: The end of season 3 certainly seems to have wrapped up the show, though Apple CEO Tim Cook would like a season 4.


There’ll only be three seasons of the massive Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso. One of the series writers and stars says the plan is to end the show with the upcoming season three.

That’s bad news for fans. And for Apple too, which needs every successful show it can get for its streaming service.

Why the best iPadOS 16 features are limited to M1 iPads

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Why the best iPadOS 16 features are limited to M1 iPads
You can't have iPadOS 16's Stage Manager multitasking system without one of the capabilities of the M1 processor.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

iPadOS 16 gives Apple tablets some powerful new capabilities, but there have been protests that these are limited to iPad models with the M1 processor. Apple promises this isn’t a trick to force people to upgrade their computers.

The iPad-maker says that only the M-series processors can deliver enough RAM to display eight applications at once.

Wirelessly charge 3 Apple devices at once with MagStack travel charger

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This 3-in-1 wireless charger can fit in a pocket.
Charge three devices at once with this compact wireless charger.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Wireless chargers might have been a novelty a few years ago, but now they’re a real competitor for wired chargers. Especially when you find one that can power multiple devices without taking up a wall full of outlets.

One example is the MagStack, a portable wireless charging pad that can power three devices — iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods — at once. It’s on sale for $44.99 (regularly $69) for a limited time.

Apple TV+ Black Bird trailer tries to buddy up to a serial killer

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Taron Egerton ends up in jail in
Taron Egerton ends up in jail in Black Bird. But if he just does this one, incredibly hellish thing ...
Photo: Apple TV+

Say things went sideways and you somehow ended up in prison, sentenced to 10 years. But authorities offer you freedom if you do just one thing for them. Transfer to a super-max facility for the criminally insane. Befriend a serial killer who may soon get out. And get him to confess more of his crimes.

Would you do it?

If the trailer for Apple TV+ psychological thriller series Black Bird is any indication, maybe don’t do it. That thing, promoting a true story brought to the screen by crime novelist Dennis Lehane, looks brutal — and potentially riveting.

With iOS 16 you cannot use your iPad as a HomeKit hub

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Apple discussed its overhauled Home app and HomeKit at WWDC22.
Apple discussed its overhauled Home app and HomeKit at WWDC22.
Photo: Apple
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

Apple rebuilt its Home app from the ground up for iOS 16, ensuring it will make managing HomeKit a breeze and support the upcoming Matter home-automation standard.

But for those who’ve been using an iPad as a hub for HomeKit, the house party’s over as of iOS 16’s release.

Bluetooth earbuds get more social with Auracast broadcast audio

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Bluetooth
Auracast will let many Bluetooth headphones share the same audio broadcast.
Photo: Bluetooth SIG

Bluetooth headphones are nearly ubiquitous, and an upcoming feature called Auracast will allow computers or phones to stream music to not just one Bluetooth receiver but all of them in the area.

While one goal of Bluetooth’s Auracast broadcast audio is to let people share their music with groups, it also has more practical uses.

Apple streamlines its Books app in iOS 16

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Apple streamlined its Books app for iOS 16 and iPadOS 15.
Apple streamlined its Books app for iOS 16 and iPadOS 15.
Photo: Apple
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

For your reading pleasure, Apple redesigned its Books apps in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. When those operating systems hit your devices later this year, you should find the Books interface less distracting and more customizable.

Hands on: Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 brings the floating app windows we asked for

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Hands on: Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 brings the floating app windows we asked for
iPad gets a lot more Mac-like in iPaOS 16. Here's what it's like to use the new multitasking features.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

One of the most-requested iPad features is here. Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 puts applications in resizable, floating windows. I’ve tested the first beta of the new system for several days now, and there’s a lot to like. And there’s plenty of frustration too. But some of that comes from this being an early beta.

Here’s my hands-on experience with the iPad’s new multitasking system, and why I think it’s going to change the way many of us use our tablets.